Supporting the Community Energy Strategy

It’s no secret that the government is under extreme pressure to meet energy and climate control targets, such as supporting a sustainable and secure energy system, reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions and lowering consumer bills.

The Community Energy Strategy, made up of existing policies and initiatives, is the government’s new suggestion for making those targets a reality. Politicians believe residents, businesses and local authorities etc., can work together in their communities to help our country overcome these challenges. Community energy isn’t a new initiative, in fact over 5,000 groups have been active in the UK since 2008. Now with proof that developing solutions to meet local needs can bring energy usage down, the government is keen to share these best practices across the UK to make these groups the norm, rather than the exception.

The strategy enables community groups to get involved in four main types of energy activities:

So as a vital part of communities, how can businesses support the initiative? Cinque Energy Solutions can certainly help with both points 1 and 2 above.

Point 1 encourages communities to look at how they currently receive energy and consider new ways of generating it. Renewable energy, such as solar power, is ideal; the source is constant and essentially free after the initial installation. This is a great way for a community to secure their power and reduce costs in the long term as the UK heads towards an energy shortage, which will see prices rise. Both residential and commercial properties can benefit from solar panels and the great news is most roofs are suitable for installation. Cinque Energy Solutions installs solar panelling for commercial buildings, so if your community group does want to go down the renewable energy route, give us a call and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.

Point 2 mentions reducing energy use, which property surveys can help businesses to do. It’s estimated that energy savings for commercial and residential buildings vary between 30-70% so the chance of being able to reduce your usage is extremely high. Finding out how efficient your building is means you can put a stop to wasted power consumption, which in turn will help you save money – it’s a win, win situation. If your group is interested in carrying out property surveys, give us a call. We use expert auditors who carry out thermal imaging, ClimaCheck and electrical energy profiling in a wide range of environments, such as schools, shops, offices etc. We’ll discuss the findings with you and talk you through the ways in which you can become more energy efficient.

We’re passionate about reducing the amount of energy the UK uses and we know community groups will be too. There are plenty of options to become more energy efficient and support the Community Energy Strategy, so give us a call today on 01252 345050 to see how we can help.

Financial help has been arranged by the DECC / Defra Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF), the Urban Community Energy Fund (UCEF), the Ynni’r Fro scheme and the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) to support community groups carrying out energy efficiency projects.